kvandevere's Identifications

Purple Chinese Houses growing in abundance on a steep rocky slope.

Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) Native, annual plant in the Plantain (Plantaginaceae) family that grows up to 50cm (20 inches) tall in many plant communties. Leaves are lance-deltate, opposite and sessile on straight stems. Flowers are arranged in whorls of 3-5 blossoms around the stem giving a pagoda-like appearance. The two upper petal lobes are white, the 2 lower lobes are rose-purple. All four together appear like a square. A fifth lobe is hidden under the lower two, keeled and enclosing the stamens and style. Peak bloom time: March-April. There are 2 subspecies listed in Calflora.

Calflora (with species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=2280

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=19994

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 237-238.

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 164.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 116.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/plantaginaceae-penstemon/

Jepson eFlora Key to Collinsia
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=11351
Jepson eFlora Description of Collinsia (taxon page)
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=11351

Leaf Terminology: Simple Diagrams/Definitions: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg